Senate Bill 2619

AN ACT ENTITLED THE "MISSISSIPPI ABORTION PROCEDURE
RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE ACT"; TO PROVIDE THAT A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OR
HEALTH CARE INSTITUTION OR HEALTH CARE PAYER SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO
PARTICIPATE IN AN ABORTION PROCEDURE THAT VIOLATES HIS OR HER CONSCIENCE; TO
PROVIDE IMMUNITY FOR SUCH ACTION; TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION FOR SUCH ACTION;
TO PROHIBIT DENIAL OF ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS DUE TO SUCH ACTION; TO PROVIDE CIVIL
REMEDIES FOR VIOLATION OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Title.

This act may be known and cited as the
"Mississippi Abortion Procedure Rights of Conscience Act."

SECTION 2. Definitions. As used
in this act:

(a)
"Abortion" means the use or prescription of any instrument,
medicine, drug or any other substances or device to terminate the pregnancy of
a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the
probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after
live birth or to remove a dead fetus.

(b)
"Abortion procedures" means any phase of patient medical care,
treatment or procedure relating to performing an abortion, including, but not
limited to, the following: patient
referral, counseling, therapy, testing, diagnosis or prognosis, research,
instruction, prescribing, dispensing or administering any device, drug, or
medication, surgery or any other care or treatment rendered by health care
providers or health care institutions.

(c)
"Health care provider" means any individual who may be asked
to participate in any way in an abortion procedure, including, but not limited
to: a physician, physician's assistant,
nurse, nurses' aide, medical assistant, hospital employee, clinic employee,
nursing home employee, pharmacist, pharmacy employee, researcher, medical or
nursing school faculty, student or employee, counselor, social worker or any
professional, paraprofessional, or any other person who furnishes, or assists
in the furnishing of, an abortion procedure.

(f)
"Employer" means any individual or entity that pays for or
provides health benefits or health insurance coverage as a benefit to its
employees, whether through a third party, a health maintenance organization, a
program of self-insurance, or some other means.

(g)
"Participate" in an abortion procedure means to counsel,
advise, provide, perform, assist in, refer for, admit for purposes of
providing, or participate in providing, any abortion procedure or any form of
such service.

(h)
"Pay" or "payment" means pay, contract for, or
otherwise arrange for the payment of, in whole or in part.

(i)
"Conscience" means the religious, moral or ethical principles
held by a health care provider, the health care institution or health care
payer. For purposes of this act, a
health care institution or health care payer's conscience shall be determined
by reference to its existing or proposed religious, moral or ethical guidelines,
mission statement, constitution, bylaws, articles of incorporation, regulations
or other relevant documents.

SECTION 3. Rights of Conscience of Health Care Providers.

(1)
Rights of Conscience. A
health care provider has the right not to participate, and no health care
provider shall be required to participate in an abortion procedure that
violates his or her conscience.

(2)
Immunity from Liability.
No health care provider shall be civilly, criminally, or
administratively liable for declining to participate in an abortion procedure
that violates his or her conscience.

(3)
Discrimination. It shall
be unlawful for any person, health care provider, health care institution,
public or private institution, public official, or any board which certifies
competency in medical specialties to discriminate against any health care
provider in any manner based on his or her declining to participate in an
abortion procedure that violates his or her conscience. For purposes of this act, discrimination
includes, but is not limited to:
termination, transfer, refusal of staff privileges, refusal of board
certification, adverse administrative action, demotion, loss of career
specialty, reassignment to a different shift, reduction of wages or benefits,
refusal to award any grant, contract, or other program, refusal to provide
residency training opportunities, or any other penalty, disciplinary or
retaliatory action.

SECTION 4. Rights of Conscience of Health Care Institutions.

(1)
Rights of Conscience. A
health care institution has the right not to participate, and no health care
institution shall be required to participate in an abortion procedure that
violates its conscience.

(2)
Immunity from Liability.
A health care institution that declines to provide or participate in an
abortion procedure that violates its conscience shall not be civilly,
criminally or administratively liable if the institution provides a consent
form to be signed by a patient before admission to the institution stating that
it reserves the right to decline to provide or participate in an abortion
procedure that violates its conscience.

(3)
Discrimination. It shall
be unlawful for any person, public or private institution, or public official
to discriminate against any health care institution, or any person,
association, corporation, or other entity attempting to establish a new health
care institution or operating an existing health care institution, in any
manner, including, but not limited to, any denial, deprivation or disqualification
with respect to licensure, any aid assistance, benefit or privilege, including
staff privileges, or any authorization, including authorization to create,
expand, improve, acquire, or affiliate or merge with any health care
institution, because such health care institution, or person, association, or
corporation planning, proposing, or operating a health care institution,
declines to participate in an abortion procedure which violates the health care
institution's conscience.

(4)
Denial of Aid or Benefit.
It shall be unlawful for any public official, agency, institution, or
entity to deny any form of aid, assistance, grants or benefits, or in any other
manner to coerce, disqualify or discriminate against any person, association,
corporation or other entity attempting to establish a new health care
institution or operating an existing health care institution because the
existing or proposed health care institution declines to participate in an
abortion procedure contrary to the health care institution's conscience.

SECTION 5. Rights of Conscience of Health Care Payers.

(1)
Rights of Conscience. A
health care payer has the right to decline to pay, and no health care payer
shall be required to pay for or arrange for the payment of an abortion
procedure that violates it conscience.

(2)
Immunity from Liability.
No health care payer and no person, association, corporation or other
entity that owns, operates, supervises or manages a health care payer shall be
civilly or criminally liable by reason of the health care payer's declining to
pay for or arrange for the payment of an abortion procedure that violates its
conscience.

(3)
Discrimination. It shall
be unlawful for any person, public or private institution, or public official
to discriminate against any health care payer, or any person, association,
corporation, or other entity (a) attempting to establish a new health care
payer, or (b) operating an existing health care payer, in any manner,
including, but not limited to, any denial, deprivation, or disqualification
with respect to licensure, aid, assistance, benefit, privilege or
authorization, including, but limited to, any authorization to create, expand,
improve, acquire, affiliate or merge with any health care payer, because a
health care payer, or a person, association, corporation or other entity
planning, proposing or operating a health care payer declines to pay for or
arrange for the payment of any abortion procedure that violates its conscience.

(4)
Denial of Aid or Benefits.
It shall be unlawful for any public official, agency, institution or
entity to deny any form of aid, assistance, grants, or benefits or in any other
manner coerce, disqualify or discriminate against any health care payer, or any
person, association, corporation or other entity attempting to establish a new
health care payer or operating an existing health care payer because the
existing or proposed health care payer declines to pay for, or arrange for the
payment of, any abortion procedure that is contrary to its conscience.

SECTION 6. Civil Remedies.

(1)
A civil action for damages or injunctive relief, or both, may be brought
for the violation of any provision of this act. It shall not be a defense to any claim arising out of the
violation of this act that such violation was necessary to prevent additional
burden or expense on any other health care provider, health care institution,
individual or patient.

(2)
Damage Remedies. Any
individual, association, corporation, entity or health care institution injured
by any public or private individual, association, agency, entity or corporation
by reason of any conduct prohibited by this act may commence a civil
action. Upon finding a violation of
this act, the aggrieved party shall be entitled to recover threefold the actual
damages, including pain and suffering, sustained by such individual,
association, corporation, entity or health care institution, the costs of the
action, and reasonable attorney's fees; but in no case shall recovery be less
than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for each violation in addition to costs
of the action and reasonable attorney's fees.
These damage remedies shall be cumulative, and not exclusive of other
remedies afforded under any other state or federal law.

(3)
Injunctive Remedies. The
court in such civil action may award injunctive relief, including, but not
limited to, ordering reinstatement of a health care provider to his or her
prior job position.

SECTION 7. Severability.

The provisions of this act are declared
to be severable, and if any provision, word, phrase or clause of this act or
the application thereof to any person shall be held invalid, such invalidity
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this act.

SECTION
8. This act shall take effect and
be in force from and after July 1, 2004.